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Schalke
Champions League | Group Stage
Sep 30, 2014 at 7.45pm UK
 
Maribor

1-1

Huntelaar (56')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Bohar (37')

Player Ratings: Schalke 04 1-1 Maribor

Sports Mole sorts the heroes from the villains in Schalke's 1-1 draw with Maribor on matchday two of the Champions League.

Schalke 04's hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League suffered a blow after Jens Keller's side were held to a 1-1 draw with Maribor at the Veltins Arena.

The Slovenian champions edged ahead on 36 minutes through Damjan Bohar, tapping home Mitja Viler's cross in a fine team goal.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hit back for Schalke on 56 minutes via an error from Viler, but the Germans failed to find a second.

Below, Sports Mole assesses how the players fared individually in Gelsenkirchen tonight.

Schalke's Swiss midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta and Maribor´s Ales Mejac (L) vie for the ball during the first leg UEFA Champions League Group G football match FC Schalke 04 vs NK Maribor on September 30, 2014© Getty Images



SCHALKE

Goal

Ralf Fahrmann: Might have done better on the Maribor goal after looking a little lethargic in his attempts to get across to block Bohar's tap-in. (5/10)

Defence

Joel Matip: Nearly cost his team the game after being caught in possession by Sallalich in the closing stages of the match. (5/10)

Kaan Ayhan: Was guilty of leaving Viler in an acre of space in the build-up to Maribor's opener. Rightly subbed at the break. (4/10)

Christian Fuchs: Solid game from the left-back and should have bagged an assist only for Kevin-Prince Boateng to head his cross wide. (7/10)

Roman Neustadter: Together with Matip, the centre-back pairing were not tested as much as they perhaps should have been due to Tavares's deficiencies. (6/10)

Midfield

Dennis Aogo: Perhaps should have made better of his set-piece opportunities; wayward shooting and deliveries from his free kicks. (5/10)

Kevin-Prince Boateng: Failed to find his passing range and missed the best chance of the first half when the scores were 0-0. Poor from the Ghanaian. (4/10)

Attack

Julian Draxler: Drifted in and out of the game too often for a player of his reputation. Few bright moments, but few and far between unfortunately for Schalke. (5/10)

Tranquillo Barnetta: Enjoyed a respectable performance on his first start in a Schalke shirt. One of the better players in blue out there tonight. (6/10)

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting: Very quiet in comparison to his match-winning performance in Saturday's win over Borussia Dortmund. Contributed little tonight. (5/10)

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar: Scored the all-important equaliser and was one of the few big-name players for Schalke that did himself justice tonight. (7/10)

Substitutes

Atusto Uchida: Replaced Ayhan at half time and showed Jens Keller why he perhaps should have started. Solid game at right-back. (6/10)

Chinedu Obasi: One or two bright moments but even that was more than what Choupo-Moting was producing. (6/10)



MARIBOR

Goal

Jasmin Handanovic: Pulled off a series of impressive saves throughout the game - including one very early on from Huntelaar. Fine display. (7/10)

Defence

Ales Mejac: Struggled to combat the tricky Draxler early on, but soon found his feet and grew into the game. (6/10)

Marko Suler: Perhaps slightly guilty of not closing Huntelaar down quickly enough prior to the equaliser. Decent other than that. (6/10)

Aleksandar Rajcevic: Produced a number of crucial interventions in the first half. Score would have been very different had he not played. (7/10)

Mitja Viler: Jekyll and Hyde performance from the left-back; producing a fine assist before undoing his good work by gifting Schalke their equaliser. (5/10)

Midfield

Zeljko Filipovic: Sat in front of the back four but found his influence growing weaker as Schalke began to find gaps through the middle. (5/10)

Ales Mertelj: Perhaps should have seen red for a poor challenge on Boateng. (5/10)

Damjan Bohar: Showed good composure to slot home Viler's cross to open the scoring, but had a quiet overall game due to Fuch's involvement. (6/10)

Dare Vrsic: Lived up to his name by almost scoring from his own half in an otherwise quiet performance from the midfielder. (5/10)

Attack

Agim Ibrahimi: Failed to build on his promising performance against Sporting Lisbon last time out and was very disappointing throughout. (3/10)

Tavares: Like Ibrahimi, found himself isolated throughout the encounter and struggled to make a significant impact. (4/10)

Substitutes

Sintayehu Sallalich: Should have been the hero by scoring late on but missed a fine chance to snatch all three points. (4/10)

Welle N'Diaye: Replaced Mertelj on 80 minutes and helped out defensively to ensure Maribor secured their point. (6/10)

Jean Phillipe Mendy: Was sent on to help Tavares and Ibrahimi in attack but found himself suffering from the same isolation problems. (5/10)

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FC Schalke's German midfielder Julian Draxler looks on during a training session at Stamford Bridge in London on October 5, 2013
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